Businesses to Boost Workforce Safety Spending: Report

• Look for a boost in spending on workforce safety and security technologies, particularly through automation that reduces worker exposure to hazards, predictive safety analytics and Internet of Things-enabled safety devices, a new survey from Samsara found.
• “Building for the Next Generation:
 Workforce Trends in Physical Operations,” found that almost all of the surveyed 1,550 leaders in physical operations across 21 industries in seven countries, plan to increase their investment.
• Nearly half of organizations are already using so-called table-stakes technology—telematics and vehicle cameras—to ensure workforce safety and security.
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NYC Code Upgrade Has Implications for Electrical Worker Safety

• An upgrade of the New York City electrical code enacted in late December has significant implications for the safety of workers handling the electrical infrastructure of buildings in the city.
• The first upgrade since 2011, Local Law 128 of 2024 stipulates that each piece of electrical service equipment located in a building’s electrical room — that is rated at 1200A or more, regardless of the voltage — is now required to have an Arc Flash label
• In accordance with NFPA 70E, the standard for electrical safety in the workplace, the label specifies the safety precautions, including protective clothing, that workers must use in servicing the designated equipment.
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NJ Reportedly Mulling State-level Heat Regulation

• The New Jersey Assembly is considering new legislation that would impose restrictions and requirements on indoor and outdoor work environments where employees are exposed to heat.
• The bill, A-5022, would establish an “Occupational Heat-Related Illness and Injury Prevention Program” enforced by the Department of Labor & Workforce Development (DOLWD).
• The bill would require the Commissioner of DOLWD to promulgate a “heat stress standard,” meaning heat safety regulations, on or before June 1, 2025.
• Like similar regulations in other states, the bill specifies that the heat stress standard would require employers to take mandatory action at certain heat levels, and to implement a written “heat-related injury and illness prevention plan.”
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Eye Strain is Straining Worker Productivity

• More than two-thirds of workers suffer from digital eye strain, with symptoms ranging from blurred vision and eye fatigue to dry, itchy eyes that hampers their productivity and overall effectiveness at work, according to a new research report.
• Workplace Intelligence’s survey of 800 human resource benefit leaders and 800 full-time employees at U.S. organizations found that employees now average 97 hours of screen time per week — an hour more than last year — with more than one-third of that time related to work activities.
• More than 25% of those employees surveyed have taken time off because of these symptoms.
• Almost 90% of HR leaders believe their organizations should do more to address the problem, yet fewer than 60% have implemented measures such as regular eye breaks, anti-glare screen protectors, or flexible scheduling to reduce continuous screen time.
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